Begging on Your Knees
by callieswagdistrict
Summary: Future A/U fic. Rachel and Puck, as the best stories are ;  There may be smut later, not right now though. Read & Review.
1. Chapter 1

He worked at this little hole in the wall pizza shop. Okay so it wasn't exactly a hole in the wall, it was one of the three most popular pizza joints in Chicago, but still it wasn't like he depended solely on the pizza place. It was more of a supplemental income, to keep his apartment.

At the pizza place, he was referred to by his nickname – Puck. But at his day job, he was Mr. Puckerman. It was kind of weird, being called Mr. Puckerman or Noah. He was so used to being called Puck that it was hard to adjust to the formality of _Noah_ or _Mr. Puckerman_. See, Puck was a lawyer. Nobody would believe him if he told them. He had shaved the Mohawk a while ago, and now he was used to it.

After leaving Lima the August after graduation, he'd never been back. He had no reason to. It was coming up on eight years since he'd left the Podunk town with no intent to return or contact any of his former classmates. Sure he talked to Finn sometimes, and Mike Chang. But the rest of them were all but a distant memory to him.

Law school had not been the plan from the start. Puck had initially gone to college for business, but a business law class opened his eyes to what he really wanted to do. So he'd changed his major and, to catch up, had stayed in Chicago for years. He'd gone to law school in Chicago as well, only seeing his mother and sister when they came to see him for holidays. Though he knew many people from Lima made their way to Chicago on a regular basis (facebook was good for that), he knew how to avoid them.

It was half past four when he left his office building and took the train, switching a couple times, to end up on Michigan Avenue. He then walked ten blocks to the pizzeria, where he changed in the bathroom. Five thirty he was on the clock, serving pizza to a mixture of regulars and tourists, checking out "authentic" Chicago pizza. He greeted his tables with ease, served them drinks quickly, but was stopped up when he saw what seemed to be a familiar brunette head.

The girl turned and he recognized her immediately. Her face had stopped his heart just as it had a few weeks ago when his girlfriend, Layla, and her daughter had arrived at the apartment they shared. They had gone to see Aladdin and Baya, the little girl, had been so excited to show him the poster she'd had autographed by the stars. He'd pulled some strings to get the two girls special privileges, just because he could. He'd pulled Baya onto his lap and she'd shown him the poster, then a program. He ignored the program but later that night, when the TV had been shut off he flipped through the pages. Her face had flashed as he'd flipped quickly, but he'd turned back.

Puck knew that Rachel was going to go far, though he'd always expected further than this. He'd tossed the program aside and quickly gone to bed with Layla, making sure to not say Rachel's name while they rolled beneath the sheets.

But now, he was surprised to see her here of all places. She'd been a vegan, he'd thought, but maybe she wasn't eating. He was unsure but was sure that he wasn't going to get in her way. He hated his past and didn't want anyone to notice.

Being Jasmine was not exactly the "Broadway" experience that Rachel had wanted. She'd much rather be playing Maria in West Side Story or something else. But after living in New York for eight years, she knew that jobs were hard to come by and you should take whatever you could get. It just so happened that this one wasn't even in New York; Chicago was where she had been taken by work. She couldn't say she minded. It was a good change from New York..

How had she found herself out with her cast mates every night? She wasn't really sure. Rachel had not been one to go out and party or even eat dinner out with her cast mates before, but here she was with her cast mates at a pizza place that Bradley (Aladdin) had insisted she must try. Her vegan habits had gone out the door when she'd entered New York and realized how hard it was to find convenient vegan food. She didn't really mind, though she felt less healthy than before.

Her cast mates were quite personable and she had a hard time not liking them. She hadn't connected with anyone like this since she'd been in high school; though she wouldn't consider anyone from New Directions a true friend of hers. Maybe Santana, whom she kept in touch with since they both lived in New York. Other than Santana she had not spoken to anyone in Lima (her fathers excepted) since the June she'd moved to New York to begin college early.

Rachel turned her head at one point and saw what she believed to be a familiar head. Though the Mohawk was gone, so she believed it must not be true. She shook the thought from her head best she could and continued on with her meal.

She held her stomach and laughed as she walked with her cast mates along the street.

"Crap, I forgot my purse!" Rachel exclaimed and turned back, jogging to get her bag. Her cast mates waited patiently on the sidewalk about a block from the restaurant.

She reentered the restaurant and weaved her way through tables to the table they'd been eating at. But her purse was gone. Her head did a little panic and she turned, heading to the hostess.

"Has anybody seen a purse? I left it at that corner table," Rachel said, fear probably quite obvious on her face.

"Not sure, let me check," the woman said and turned, shouting, "HEY! PUCK, DID YOU FIND A PURSE?"

Rachel's heart stopped when she saw him nod and head to the back. She took the purse from his hand as soon as he reached her and booked it out, not even hearing him comment on how she was still weird.

Puck saw the purse lying on the floor. It was almost eerie how typical of Rachel it was. Plain and black, but there was a clasp on it that was a gold star. She probably picked it out solely for that decoration. He chuckled to himself and took it back into the back, knowing she'd be back to get it. What he didn't expect was that she would high tail it out of the pizzeria.

"She's still batshit crazy," he muttered to himself and returned to his work.


	2. Chapter 2

He saw his daughter every once in a while. Shelby lived in Chicago, teaching music lessons to some little kids. He was sure Rachel didn't know of that, but maybe if he ever saw her again he'd tell her. Beth was ten now and she was crazy as hell, he attributed it to himself. He'd contacted Shelby often in high school and then when he'd moved to Chicago, he'd struck up a casual friendship with the woman. Seeing Beth was natural and he loved is daughter. It was good because it made him feel like less of a shithead.

Puck's relationship with Layla ended soon after he saw Rachel for the first time since high school. He could lie to himself and say that the end was imminent and he had known that before, but the truth was that he'd moaned Rachel while he and Layla were having sex. The next day he came home from the law firm and Layla and Baya's stuff was gone, the bookshelves in the apartment were stripped bare of any hint that there had been a woman and a little girl living there.

He went to see Beth that weekend, he took her to the Lincoln Park Zoo like they did every once in a while. She told him she wanted to see Aladdin and he told her he'd work his magic and get her there. She also told him she wanted to meet her real mom. He told her he wasn't sure if he could get her there, but he'd try. She hugged him goodbye and, for the first time in a while, Puck cried on the drive back to his apartment.

* * *

Rachel knew that it had been Puck she'd seen, and she tried to deny it, but the first time Santana called her she shouted his name into the phone in a random outburst.

"What?" Santana had laughed, "Puck? As in Noah Puckerman? Are you fucking him Berry?"

"No! He lives here, and works at this pizza place and I saw him and he saw me," she said, sounding frightened.

"Oh no, he's gonna get you!" Santana laughed.

"Shut up! I kinda wanna see him again," Rachel admitted, sipping from the wine glass that sat on the bedside table of her hotel room.

"Then go back to that pizza place and demand he take you out!" Santana was always encouraging Rachel's relationships.

"Maybe…" Rachel said.

The conversation continued on for a few minutes but ended when Santana got a call from Brittany. Rachel was used to Brittany taking precedence over her so she forgave Santana's quick ending phone calls. Besides, she was getting drowsy. Four glasses of wine do that to a person. Tomorrow Rachel would look for an apartment, and go get pizza.

* * *

Puck called McKinley that night, hoping to find if the alumni association had a number for Quinn Fabray; they didn't. He could call Finn or someone, but he didn't keep in contact with them for a reason. Plus, he was not interested in reopening those doors. Rachel was the only person he'd ever consider letting back in, because she'd actually been a part of his life.

He thought back to senior year, after Rachel and Finn had broken up for the fourth time ("This time for real!" Rachel had shouted, it had been.)

_"So Berry, I was thinking, since Finn is a douche and all…you should come to prom with me," Puck said as he and Rachel sat in her bedroom, his guitar posed in his hands._

_"Noah, that is not the proper way to ask a girl to go to a formal dance," Rachel responded, standing up from her bed and looking out the window at the warm, Ohio spring day, "let's get back to rehearsing."_

_The pair sat in Glee club, next to each other as they had since Sectionals. They did not have a place aside from each other. They were not best friends, that was true, but Puck was the only one Rachel had beside her. Her life had not depended on friends before, but after the killer break up with Finn, Rachel had needed a little bit of reassurance in her life. Puck smiled at Rachel before club as Mr. Schuester came into the room, looking straight to Puck._

_"Everyone, Puck has something he wants to say," he spoke up and Rachel watched as Puck stood up and walked out in front of everyone._

_"Okay, so I know I'm a badass but my mom would kill me if I didn't go to prom. So here I am, begging for Berry to please go to prom with me cause I'll die without her," he said, though no one could quite tell if he was kidding or not. "And on that note, I have a song to sing with Berry, if she'll have me."_

_"Well maybe if you called me Rachel…" she trailed off and stood up, "of course I'll always perform, even with you Noah." Rachel called him by his nickname, the one only she called him, and that was an indication of her saying yes to him._

Prom had been the best. And then graduation had been the last day he'd seen anyone. He hadn't even gone to parties, just up and left Lima for Chicago. Early admission got him into summer classes and he was on a fast track to graduation. He had called Shelby the first day in Chicago and she'd agreed to let him see the two year old. It had come natural between the two and Puck was a staple in his daughter's life.

* * *

Rachel wandered around Chicago, dressed well and looking for an apartment. This realtor had helped her a bit and she'd found somewhere she liked, at least she thought so. It was within walking distance of where she performed, practiced, and where her cast mates lived. It was perfect. Oh, and it didn't hurt that that pizza place was a mere three blocks north.

She signed a lease that day, why hesitate?, and moved her belongings from the hotel that afternoon. Pizza was definitely in order that night. So she went to the pizza place and waited in the line to get in. She adjusted her blouse (red v-neck) and hoped that Noah would recognize her and talk to her, because she needed him to approach her.

She was seated and told that Puck would be over in just a minute. She laughed to herself, knowing that many restaurants would deem it unprofessional to have the name Puck, but this restaurant did not mind.

When Puck saw her, his mind flashed back to prom and he knew he was going to be thinking impure thoughts all night.

_The music pulsated through the floor of the McKinley High School gymnasium floor. Junior prom was finally here and the kids had been excited for weeks. From across the gym, Puck watched Rachel. Her dark red dress was low, showing off the cleavage that Puck was sure even Rachel did not know existed. It gripped her curves and flowed to the floor, the only thing keeping it from touching the floor were the heels Rachel wore. Puck's mind had been imagining how her legs looked with those heels, how she would look in just those heels. He'd had to think of something else just to cool his mind down._

_Puck's eyes followed Rachel's every movement all night. He was obedient as her date and had done all of the required date things. It was loud in the gym, how cheap was McKinley? They had their prom in the gym on a Friday night, with a cheap ass DJ and shit for refreshments. Rachel had been bitter about prom all week, upon finding out that it was in fact going to be held at the school rather than one of the hotels in town. Puck undid his tie, the one Rachel had forced him to wear, and leaned back against the gym wall. Finn leaned to the right of him, Sam on the left. Their dates had miraculously become friends in the past few weeks and now they all watched the three girls dance their butts off._

_"Jesus," Puck muttered to himself as he watched Rachel grind up against Quinn and Santana, wondering why they were so sexy together. Though he had not thought of Quinn nor Santana as sexy lately, tonight they were all beautiful._

_Rachel laughed with the girls she now considered to be her friends. As strange as it was, she actually liked the fact that Quinn was dating Finn again, and she thought Santana and Sam worked well together. They were Fuinn and Samtana, and Puckleberry was perfect. Fighting in Glee club had come down to a minimum, but that played large part into their victory at Regionals. Though they had not won Nationals, they had made a big splash and everyone had begun to get along better, even those who had formerly fought over those who were together._

_Turning around slightly, Rachel caught Puck's stare, it was something she had only seen a few times before. It was, dare she say, lustful. Rachel bit her lip seductively, winked at Puck, and turned back to the girls._

_"Alright guys, that's it, I'm over this dance. I am gonna steal Rachel and get out of here," Puck said, pushing himself off the wall. He gave Sam and Finn fist bumps and walked towards Rachel, his mind set on the prize. He reached Rachel and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, picking her up and hoisting her over his shoulder._

_"PUCKERMAN PUT ME DOWN!" she squealed loudly, though he pretended to not be able to hear it, and he carried her out of the gym. The hallway outside the gym was full of so called chaperones, though none of them were really responsive to Rachel Berry being carried out of the school._

_Once in the parking lot, Puck slid Rachel down his front and let her feet rest against the black asphalt next to his car. Rachel adjusted her dress, making sure it didn't touch the ground. "That was very rude of you Noah, I was in the middle of dancing with my friends," Rachel said._

_Puck smiled at how Rachel said dancing with her friends, she giggled slightly at the word friends. It had amazed her to even have friends now and so she'd been excited about it. Puck leaned against Rachel, pushing her against the side of his car. He had washed it that day, so he hoped she wouldn't put up much of a fight. "You were killing me, dancing with them," Puck admitted, leaning closer to the petite girl, running his hand along her side gently._

_"Stop it, Noah," Rachel said, her eyes closing as she set her head back against the cool glass of the window, the curls of her hair pushing flat._

_"Stop what?" he said quietly, continuing rubbing her side._

_"Let's go home?" she suggested, feeling Noah's fingers brush her legs. Rachel used all of her effort to push Puck from her and he gave her a look, but leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips._

That red blouse was so similar to her dress, he couldn't stop replaying the rest of that night. She had called him Puck that night when he'd taken her virginity, yet then mumbled Noah into his neck as she came down from her high. But then he'd left a week later and never seen her again; he was upset that he'd ruined her and left. He felt like he had something to fix.

"Hi, Rach," he said and smiled a crooked grin at her.

"Noah! How are you?" she grinned, faking surprise.

"I'm pretty good, how are you?" he asked her.

"I'm awesome, just moved into my new apartment and thought pizza sounded great," Rachel loved this, seeing him again.

Puck served her the whole night, buttering her up with extra breadsticks and recommending the best pasta dish for her dinner. He'd given her all she wanted and then by the end of the night, he'd received quite a big tip.

"Come see me again," he said to her, a smile on his face.

Rachel stood and placed a kiss on his cheek. She handed him a ten dollar bill with her phone number wrapped in it. "Call me, let's catch up," she smiled at him and left the restaurant.

She tipped well and still knew how to drive him mad. He really had missed her.


	3. Chapter 3

Beth was no dummy, she figured out that Puck wasn't actually her uncle, but rather something else at a mere five years old. She asked Shelby who told her the truth, something she told puck she would do when Beth finally asked the truth. The little girl had quite a range, on top of her intelligence. Shelby home schooled her and sent her to private vocal coaches. Now that she was ten, her curiosity killed puck. He spent his Saturdays with her. Sometimes they would just get a pizza and hang out at pucks apartment. He used to send Layla and Baya away for alone time with his little girl.

The first time Beth asked him about Quinn he almost choked on his pizza. He hadn't expected the question. She only wanted to know about her birth mom. Shelby was her mom and she would never replace her, but she just wanted to know about the woman who puck had loved; the woman who had helped her mom get what she always wanted.

Quinn was indescribable to puck. He held resentment towards her. He had a hard time not being a jerk about her, but for Beth's sake he knew that he had to be nice. So he was. And now she wanted to meet Quinn. He told her about how her mom was blonde, just like she was; and how she could sing like nobody's business. Then he told her about her boldness, how Quinn never really took any shit (whoops) from anybody. Beth always laughed when Puck swore, so he knew that she wasn't exactly offended. She never told Shelby either, or else Puck would've gotten this major talking to and he hated those talks with Shelby. She kinda scared him and he never really wanted to be around her.

Beth never referred to him as dad, she called him Puck. It would've hurt too much to hear her call him dad, mostly because he knew he'd never be her dad. He was just her father. And he was her uncle Puck. They went to the zoos together and the museums, he took her on the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier for the first time last summer. Puck had bought Beth her first guitar when she was six, it was a mini guitar and she took to it almost immediately. Hell, that little girl could read music before she could read books. She was skilled on the piano and he had had no trouble teaching her to play the guitar.

That was why Puck was glad that Rachel had come into his life again. She seemed like she would keep in contact with her former classmates. At least, maybe Finn or someone like that. Then again, she hadn't even tried to keep in contact with him and he knew that she probably wouldn't keep in contact with her ex.

He texted her one afternoon and hoped she'd text him back. But he didn't get a chance to reply when she texted him because he had to work at the pizza place. When he got off work at eleven, she was sitting on the curb outside of the restaurant.

"I was going to come in but I hate being that person, so I thought I'd wait outside," she told him, a soft smile on her face.

"You're either fucking crazy, or daring as shit Berry," Puck laughed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He felt her thin arms wrap around his waist and hold him close.

"Let's go get some coffee, or hot chocolate if you still don't drink coffee," Rachel said and released him from the hug.

The pair wandered down the street in silence, Rachel's heels clicking against the cement. Puck led them to a diner he knew was close by, okay six blocks away, and opened the door for her when they got there. She entered in and sat down in a booth; he followed her and sat across from her, spreading his legs across under the table and nudging hers.

"So what's up Jasmine?" Puck said after he ordered a black coffee for himself and Rachel ordered herself a latte.

"Shut up," she laughed, "how did you know about that?"

"I know everything," he winked at her, "no, but really. My ex took her daughter last week, and her daughter was just really excited about it all and got this poster and all this stuff with your face all over it."

"Your ex, you talk to her?" Rachel questioned curiously.

"No, not exactly. We just broke up, a couple days ago," he told her with a nod.

"What happened?" she asked him.

"You," Puck was honest. He wouldn't hold back the secrets.

"What do you mean me?" Rachel was kind of worried.

"Well, after I saw you that first time at the restaurant, I couldn't get you out of my head. And then, well," he awkwardly laughed.

"You did not have a name flub in bed!" Rachel exclaimed and the waiter looked curiously at them, setting their coffees in front of them.

"Yeah well, oops," Puck laughed and took a drink of his coffee.

Rachel shook her head and looked downward. It wasn't like she never thought about him. In fact, she thought about him quite a bit. She never let anybody know. Hell, half of the people in her life didn't even know a damn thing about her young life. She didn't tell anybody about her glee club days or Finn, the scandals of New Directions. She didn't tell them about Puck at all. He was always in her head, but never in her stories. Most people only knew she had 2 gay dads if even anything. As far as most people knew, she was just Rachel Berry: off Broadway actress.

Puck sipped his coffee slowly, admiring Rachel. God she was still as gorgeous as the last time he saw her; dressed in a tacky red graduation cap and gown, her brunette locks straight down her back. She'd had this gorgeous smile on her face, her diploma in her hand. She was taking pictures with Tina and Mercedes. He'd winked at her and waved his diploma, reassuring her that he too had received it. Then, he left.

In her face he could see more maturity, though it still held a bit of childhood playfulness he could recall from high school. He'd missed out on a lot, not knowing her from high school on. However, he relished his life now.

"So, elusive Noah Puckerman," Rachel finally began speaking again, her hands wrapped around the coffee cup, "what have you been doing since graduation?"

"You wouldn't believe me," he told her and took another drink of his coffee, draining the cup.

"Yes I would, I always believed you," Rachel quietly spoke and extended her hand, touching his arm gently.

"I'm a lawyer," he told her and the waiter poured more coffee into his mug, walking away soon after. Sure, the Mohawk was gone but Puck still had the intimidation factor.

"Seriously? That's really great Noah, I'm sure you're impeccable at litigation," she smiles, "what type of law do you practice?"

"Contract law, I work with a lot of professional athletes," he tells her and drinks some more coffee. She's hardly touched her latte.

"Noah, that's amazing, I'm proud of you," she told him and he could see the sincerity in her face. He hated that she was always using his first name and making him want to hear it more. Like, he wanted to hear her moan it out. Inappropriate, Puck, he was kicking himself mentally.

"Thanks. The pizza place is fun, just for extra money to keep my apartment," he told her and smiled. He wasn't sure why Rachel made him so happy, but she did.

The silence overtook their table once more. He took large gulps of his coffee while she took small sips. Soon enough, the waiter had filled Puck's mug about six times. They just sat there, taking each other in.

Rachel watched how Noah's jaw clenched. Sometimes he'd take in a breath, like he was going to speak again but he didn't. It was like he could not find something to say, or at the very least, how to say it. She missed his Mohawk, though she'd never admit it. His eyes kept looking back at hers, as if he were attempting to read her mind. She kept pushing any thought of him out of her head.

Puck looked to his watch, it was nearly two. They'd been sitting here in silence for the better part of two hours. It wouldn't have been so bad if he didn't have to still get home and then pick up Beth at seven to take her to her dance class.

"Crap," he said and pulled his wallet from his pocket. He extracted a twenty dollar bill and set it on the table.

"What's up?" Rachel asked, stirring from her thoughts.

"I have to go, I have to pick up Beth in five hours," he said, rambling in a way.

"Wait, Beth Beth?" she asked, drinking the rest of her second latte.

"Oh, uh, yeah," he said, a smile on his face.

"That's awesome, how long have you been spending time with her?" she asked and stood up simultaneously with him.

"Eight years," he admitted, wondering if she'd be mad. He'd spent more time with her mom than she had, though she wouldn't really know that.

"Wow, that's amazing Noah. Is that why you chose Chicago?" she questioned and they walked outside. He hailed a taxi with ease and opened the door for her. She slid down the seat and he followed her in.

"Kind of," he told her and let her give her address to the taxi driver, "I have a question."

"What's that?" she responded.

"Do you keep in touch with Quinn?" he asked her and she bit her lip. She should have guessed he only wanted to reconnect with Quinn, especially after telling her about Beth.

"No, but I'm friends with Santana and I think she might, why?" Rachel was curious and she wanted Puck to tell her outright.

"Beth wants to meet her. I don't really want her in my life, but I can't keep her from seeing Beth," he admitted.

"So Beth knows, then, she's not in the dark?" Rachel responded.

"Yeah, she's known for about five years now," he told her, thinking about how weird it was when Beth had asked him if he was her father, "she figured it out all on her own."

"She's smart, like you," Rachel smiled and looked at the front of her apartment building. "I'll do some fishing and see what I can find out," she said and smiled.

"Thanks Rachel," Puck said and Rachel stepped out of the taxi, walking around to the door. Puck rolled down his window.

"hey Rachel!" he shouted and she turned, walking back towards him.

"Yes, Noah?" she said and leaned down to the window.

Puck extended his body and kissed her cheek gently. "Thanks for tonight, it's been good seeing you. I'll call you soon," he told her.

"Bye Noah," she said and pressed her hand to her cheek as the taxi pulled away. A little bit of excitement filled her again, she'd missed him a lot.


End file.
